:: Nuclear Blast Allstars - Out Of The Dark: 20 Years Of Nuclear Blast

Nuclear Blast Allstars

In celebration of their twentieth anniversary, German independent label Nuclear Blast Records decided to commission two albums from two artists to show off the diverse range of acts that were, and still are signed to the renowned label. Back in June, the first of the Nuclear Blast Records’ celebratory releases was released under the title of ‘Into The Light’. Penned and put together by Russian multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Victor Smolski (Ex-Mind Odyssey/Rage guitarist/keyboardist/bassist), the power/traditional metal influenced album was very much a disappointment, with very little to celebrate song wise outside a few gems. Three months on and Nuclear Blast Records are offering up their second birthday release in the darker and heavier effort ‘Out Of The Dark’. Produced, written and performed by Peter Wichers, ‘Out Of The Dark’ is the highly anticipated first post-Soilwork release from the guitarist, and much like ‘Into The Light’, it’s a mixed bag of the good and the average. In Flames’ Anders Fridén is the first to bring Wichers solo material to life on ‘Dysfunctional Hours’, and it sounds great. Opting from a melodic scream throughout, Wichers allows Fridén to try something a little different from what we’ve come to expect from In Flames in recent years, and it’s quite effective.

Much like Fridén’s effort, Pain/Hypocrisy front man Peter Tägtgren’s performance on ‘Schizo’ is something a little different from the norm, with both the aggressive and melodic sides of Tägtgren’s powerful voice out in full force, while the performances from ex-Ensiferum/Wintersun vocalist Jari Mäenpää and Scar Symmetry’s Christian Älvestam simply annihilate. Ex-Anthrax/Armored Saint vocalist John Bush is unfortunately the first casualty on the album. Although a worthy guitarist, he’s not given a lot to work with on somewhat pedestrian ‘Paper Trail’, while Soilwork’s Björn ‘Speed’ Strid teaming up with Wichers on melodic and slower paced ‘The Dawn Of All’ offers little in the way of genuine surprises as it sounds just like latter day Soilwork.

Kataklysm’s Maurizio Iacono has always been a solid and dependable force in the death metal scene, but his performance on the punishing ‘Cold Is My Vengeance’ is wasted on this forgettable song, while ‘The Gilded Dagger’ and ‘Closer To The Edge’ are nothing more than predictable slices of modern metal. Although a little more consistent than ‘Into The Light’, Wichers’ ‘Out Of The Dark’ effort still fails to maintain its consistency throughout due to the abundance of fillers around the second half, which is a real shame given Wichers work within Soilwork. If you’re a fan of ‘Into The Light’, then you’ll no doubt enjoy ‘Out Of The Dark’. If however you were a little disappointed with the said album, then you’ll know what to expect here.